Latest news with #MichelinYoungChefAward
Eater
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
Here Are the 2025 Michelin Star Winners in Los Angeles
Chefs and restaurateurs from across California gathered at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center in Sacramento on June 25 for the 2025 presentation of the Michelin Guide California. At the annual ceremony, the Michelin Guide awards restaurants Michelin stars, as well as green stars, which recognize sustainability practices. Coming into this year's ceremony, Los Angeles and Orange County did not have any three-star restaurants. In 2024, Vespertine was the only restaurant to be given two Michelin stars. Last year's ceremony also saw chef Gilberto Cetina's Holbox, a Mexican seafood counter in Mercado La Paloma, gain its first Michelin star. Rebel Omakase in Laguna Beach, Uka at Japan House in Hollywood, and chef Jordan Kahn's Meteora were also awarded their first star. Although the ceremony focuses on awarding stars, it also provides updates on which restaurants have lost stars. Last year, Beverly Hills omakase restaurant Sushi Ginza Onodera and Palms kaiseki restaurant N/Naka each lost one of their two stars. This year's ceremony kicked off with some excitement even before the first award was officially announced. The Michelin Guide (accidentally) posted a video in advance of the ceremony announcing that Aitor Zabala's acclaimed tasting menu restaurant Somni had received three Michelin stars, making it LA's first three-Michelin-starred restaurant. The video was unlisted and subsequently removed. The rest of the evening held more excitement for Los Angeles, with chef Ki Kim of Restaurant Ki receiving the Michelin Young Chef Award, and the restaurant becoming LA's first Michelin-starred Korean restaurant. Mori Nozomi and Silver Omakase also received one star. Later in the evening, Michael Cimarusti's seafood tasting menu restaurant, Providence, received three stars, bringing Los Angeles up to a total of two three-starred restaurants. Sushi Ginza Onodera and Hana re Sushi did not retain their stars. Michelin published its first Los Angeles guides in 2008 and 2009, before exiting the city for a decade. (San Francisco has had its own guide since 2006.) In 2019, the California Tourism Board wooed Michelin back with $600,000 to cover the costs of expanding the guide to the entire state, including a return to Los Angeles. Michelin did not award stars in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned with a ceremony in 2022. Although Michelin stars are highly coveted, the Michelin Guide has been criticized for its focus on fine dining experiences, which often feature elaborate omakase-style menus or chef-driven dinners. Alongside the stars, the Michelin Guide also awards Bib Gourmands to restaurants that offer 'good quality, good value cooking.' The Bib Gourmand designation tends to highlight more affordable restaurants — at these restaurants, diners can expect two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for about $50 USD before tax and tip. Still, the Michelin Guide struggles to cover the breadth and diversity of dining scenes in cities like Los Angeles. And while recent years have seen a positive shift toward highlighting restaurants that fall outside the fine dining rubric, many local favorites and outstanding street vendors still go largely unrecognized by the guide. Here are all of Los Angeles's Michelin stars. New entrants, or changes to stars, are marked with an asterisk. 715 Bell's Camphor Caruso's Citrin Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura Gwen Heritage Holbox Kali Kato Knife Pleat Meteora Morihiro Mori Nozomi * N/Naka Nozawa Bar Orsa & Winston Osteria Mozza Pasta Bar Rebel Omakase The Restaurant at Justin Restaurant Ki * Shibumi Shin Sushi Silver Omakase * Six Test Kitchen Sushi Inaba Restaurant Sushi Kaneyoshi Uka at Japan House Additional reporting by Eater Southern California/Southwest lead editor Matthew Kang. See More:
Los Angeles Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
These two L.A. restaurants are the city's first-ever to receive three Michelin stars
Wednesday night's Michelin Guide announcement was a historic one for Los Angeles: For the first time in the guide's history, the global dining compendium awarded three stars — the highest rating possible — to an L.A. restaurant. In fact, it awarded three stars to two L.A. restaurants. Michelin's California Guide is published each year, highlighting the state's best restaurants according to the company's team of anonymous inspectors. Michelin stars, awarded on a scale from one to three, are widely regarded as one of the highest accolades a restaurant can garner. One star signifies 'high-quality cooking, worth a stop,' two stars recognize 'excellent cuisine, worth a detour,' and three stars translate to 'exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.' Multiple restaurants in Los Angeles have been awarded two stars, but this year previous star holders Providence and Somni crossed the threshold into three-star status — the only two restaurants in California to newly earn the accolade in 2025. Los Angeles chef Ki Kim of Little Tokyo's Restaurant Ki won the Michelin Young Chef Award, in addition to his restaurant earning a single star. Kim battled mental health difficulties during the closure of his first restaurant, Kinn, but returned with a new modern Korean tasting menu last year. At the ceremony, held in Sacramento at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center, Kim was praised for his 'exhibited leadership and dedication to the craft.' The 2025 statewide guide also recognized 123 restaurants with its 'bib gourmand' awards, indicating 'good food at a moderate price.' It also awarded green stars, denoting sustainability practices. Providence owners Michael Cimarusti and Donato Poto appeared stunned as they headed to the stage to accept their award, hugging the puffy white mascot Michelin Man. Somni chef Aitor Zabala removed his suit jacket onstage, immediately changing into chef's whites. He promptly hugged every three-star chef standing on stage, then posed for a photo revealing his shirt: 'Immigrants feed America.' According to the Michelin website, restaurants are rated by 'quality of the ingredients used, mastery of flavor and cooking techniques, the personality of the chef in the cuisine, harmony of flavors, and consistency between visits.' Providence, in Hollywood, has a long history in the Michelin Guide. The restaurant — a destination for sustainable seafood by way of an artful tasting menu — turned 20 this month. In its third year in operation, it earned one Michelin star. The following year, it gained a second. Michelin Guide would leave L.A. for a decade, but when it returned in 2019, Providence again earned two stars. Notwithstanding Michelin Guide's 2020 pause in ratings due to the pandemic and wildfires, Providence held two stars every year since the guide's return to L.A. In 2023 the restaurant also earned the green star, commending its sustainability practices. 'Providence is a wonderful example of consistency and evolution,' Michelin Guide's anonymous chief inspector of North America told The Times via email. Cimarusti 'is very passionate, serious and focused as he has been doing wonderful work over the years, recently reaching an inflection point which was made evident in our meals this year,' they continued. 'When you get to the three stars level, it's about a distinct personality and level of technical expertise that makes it one of the best restaurants in the world.' Somni also previously held Michelin stars; but the original restaurant — a collaboration between chefs José Andrés and Aitor Zabala — closed in 2020 after two years inside the SLS Hotel in Beverly Grove. It earned two stars in 2019. Then, in late November, Zabala — with Andrés' blessing but not his business partnership — reopened Somni in a new West Hollywood home. The new tasting menu includes new dishes, 14 seats overlooking a chefs counter, and a progressive, multi-structure experience that involves a patio reception. 'We've had plenty of experience at Somni in its first iteration and were sad to see that it closed,' the anonymous chief inspector of North America told The Times. 'We're very excited that it has re-emerged in such an impressive state. Chef Zabala has a singular vision and has guided his team to produce a culinary experience that is hands down stunning. The new restaurant iteration is an even more impactful representation of the original.' There are now eight three-star restaurants in the state of California: Providence, Somni, San Diego's Addison, and Northern California's Atelier Crenn, the French Laundry, Benu, Quince and Single Thread. Two restaurants freshly earned two stars in the 2025 guide — San Francisco's Kiln and Sonoma's Enclos — while five restaurants newly earned one-star ratings, including two in Los Angeles. Ki Kim's modern Korean tasting menu in Little Tokyo, Ki, now holds a star, as does Nozomi Mori's Sawtelle sushi omakase, Mori Nozomi, which is helmed by an all-female staff. Other new one-star awardees are Carlsbad's Lilo, Santa Barbara's Silvers Omakase and Oakland's Sun Moon Studio. Other new L.A.-area accolades include most of the year's new bib gourmand additions: Komal in Historic South-Central, Rasarumah in Historic Filipinotown, Vin Folk in Hermosa Beach and West Adams' temporarily closed Bee Taqueria, home to some of the best tacos in the city. 'This is huge for us,' Komal chef and co-founder Fátima Juárez told The Times last month when she learned her restaurant would be included in the California guide in some manner, though she was not sure what its recognition would be. 'I'm grateful,' she said in June. 'I never say, 'Oh, I'm cooking for [awards] or I'm cooking for this.' You know, I'm cooking because I love cooking, and I love my kitchen.' Hayato, Mélisse and Vespertine al maintained their two-star ratings from 2024. L.A.-area one-star awardees who retained their 2024 rating include 715, Camphor, Citrin, Gucci Osteria da Massimo Bottura, Gwen, Heritage, Holbox, Kali, Kato, Meteora, Morihiro, n/naka, Nozawa Bar, Orsa & Winston, Osteria Mozza, Pasta Bar, Rebel Omakase, Shibumi, Shin Sushi, Sushi I-naba, Sushi Kaneyoshi and Uka. Near Los Angeles, so did Bell's in Los Alamos, Caruso's in Montecito, Valle in Oceanside, Knife Pleat in Costa Mesa, Jeune et Jolie in Carlsbad and Soichi in San Diego. Sushi Ginza Onodera in West Hollywood did not retain its star, nor did Hana re Sushi in Costa Mesa. Michelin's full list of 2025 California Guide awardees can be found here.
Miami Herald
30-04-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Are these the best new chefs in Miami? Magazine honors the rising stars of 2025
A national restaurant magazine has named several chefs and food and beverage professionals from Miami as some of the best in the country. StarChefs, which highlights up-and-coming culinary talent and industry trends, has announced its 2025 Miami Rising Stars Award winners who are being recognized for their food and the ability to lead, inspire and support the community and the restaurant industry. Managing partner Will Blunt said the winners — who are judged on creativity, ambition, presentation and philosophy as well as their menus — are 'successfully representing the city's dynamic cultures and communities with respect and intention.' 'As the focus shifts west — beyond the beach — a new generation of chefs, bartenders, sommeliers and restaurateurs are thinking locally by emphasizing South Florida Produce, catering to year-round residents and embracing Miami's global influences while paying homage to the industry leaders who have come before them,' he said in a statement. The culinary luminaries honored include Maria Teresa Gallina and Nicolas Martinez of Recoveco in South Miami and Juan Camilo Liscano of Palma in Miami. Both restaurants were added to the 2025 Michelin Guide this year, and Liscano won the Michelin Young Chef Award this year as well. Also honored was Tam Pham of the insanely popular Vietnamese spot Tam Tam, named a Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide, who's also one of the owners of the new Double Luck Chinese on the 79th Street Causeway. Evan Burgess and Osmel Gonzalez of the Michelin-starred EntreNos in Miami Shores earned the Game Changer award, which recognizes professionals whose leadership is advancing the industry. Burgess and Gonzalez, who try to source the majority of their ingredients from Florida, earned a Michelin Green Star this year. They were honored for their locally sourced produce and land-based protein; sustainably sourced seafood; dinnerware made by a Miami-based artisan, an organic and biodynamic wine program and the repurposing of food waste into vinegars and sauces. StarChefs is also hosting Miami Rising Stars Restaurant Week from May 7-21 — yes, that's technically two weeks — during which the chefs will prepare new and special dishes at their restaurants to show off their skills. Here is a full list of this year's Miami winners. Rising Stars chefs Estefania Andrade of Trippy Kitchen, Tripping Animals Brewing Co. in Miami Ivan Barros of Magic Wine Bar in Miami and Coconut Grove (formerly at Amara at Paraiso) Javier Cussato and Carmen Ibarra of Atomica at MIA Market in the Design District Maria Teresa Gallina and Nicolas Martinez of Recoveco in South Miami Juan Camilo Liscano of Palma in Miami Tam Pham of Tam Tam in downtown Miami Juan Manuel Umbert of Pasta in Wynwood Pastry chef Ana De Sa Martins, formerly of Stubborn Seed in Miami Beach Bakers Christian Julien and Oscar Lastra of Facade Bartender Rensel Cabrera of The Sylvester in Miami Sommeliers Gabriela Ospina of Boia De in Little River Matt Whitney of Sunny's Steakhouse in Little River Game Changer award Evan Burgess and Osmel Gonzalez of EntreNos in Miami Shores Community award Karla Hoyos of Tacotomia in Miami Restaurateurs Josh Hackler, Pili Restrepo and Sebastian Vargas of Grassfed Culture Hospitality Concept award Kavan Burke, Wayne Sharpe and Harrison Sofer of Jrk! in downtown Miami Mentor award Diego Oka of La Mar by Gaston Acurio
BBC News
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Michelin young chef of the year enjoying British ingredients
The winner of the Michelin Young Chef Award for 2025 has said she is enjoying cooking with British ingredients since making the move to the UK from South Africa. Ash Valenzuela-Heeger came over to be with her wife Erin and the pair set up the Riverine Rabbit in Stirchley, restaurant has also caught the eye of the Michelin Guide and it received a Bib Gourmand award in recognition of food which is both good quality and good described the young chef award as a "nice pat on the back" and the couple said they were "very happy" with their restaurant. Before coming to the UK, Ash had her own restaurant in Cape Town and said "leaving a continent is a very hard thing to do".The 35-year-old said "hats off to anyone who does it" and explained it was especially difficult because she came over in 2020, during the coronavirus setting up a new restaurant in Birmingham the couple ran a number of pop-ups in different locations around the said they had been "generating buzz in Brummie circles for some time" before opening Riverine said they eventually settled on Stirchley because they spent a lot of time there "hanging out" and she said there were "a lot of cool independent businesses on the high street"."We felt a kinship to Stirchley," she said. Ash said she really enjoyed working with Asian ingredients and techniques, but when she moved to Birmingham she had to adapt to use British said she was really enjoying working with new ingredients such as scallops and oily fish and said: "Even the beef tastes different over here."She admitted "there's a lot of indigenous flora that you get in South Africa which I do miss a lot," but trying new ingredients was "fun".Presenting her with the young chef award, the Michelin Guide said Ash's "original cooking is big on flavour and draws on influences from her native South Africa to across Asia".It also praised the couple for an "inventive and invigorating restaurant".Riverine Rabbit is a lot smaller than the restaurant in Cape Town, but Erin, 29, said they were "very happy just serving our 12 guests".Erin divides her time between the restaurant and her other job as a materials scientist at the University of Birmingham, specialising in aerospace ceramics, and said there were no plans to expand at this said they "just make things a little bit better every day". Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
